Too Many Teams in the FCS Playoffs?

[DePereBisonFan]

24 teams in the playoffs is too many. All 8 seeded teams won their games this year, and I think that's fairly par for the course. I would go to 12 or 16 teams at most.

...It will be a long off-season...

[BigHorns]

I'd personally like to see 16 at large for FCS, but some conferences would be left out.

[Professor Chaos]

24 teams in the playoffs is too many. All 8 seeded teams won their games this year, and I think that's fairly par for the course. I would go to 12 or 16 teams at most.

...It will be a long off-season...

If the argument is the top 8 are the true contenders it's no different for them between a 16 and 24 team format. 24 is a good number IMO. I'd strongly oppose getting rid of autobids and a 24 team field allows all the conferences who want an autobid to have one while giving enough at-large spots to get in any contenders who didn't win their league.

[CyPanth]

I used to like the 24 team format because it helped extend the season for my Panthers. However, I have come to question the legitimacy of a playoff that has so many also-ran teams. And I wonder if those last at-large teams really want to play these games, particularly as it involves travel to places their schools and fans don't want to go for many reasons in addition to getting pummeled on the field.

It's not that you can avoid lopsided games (e.g. Georgia/TCU). But even the most lopsided national championship was preceded by the best semifinals ever. Unless there is more competitiveness in the round of 16, it seems that it might be better to reduce the number of teams.

[Professor Chaos]

I used to like the 24 team format because it helped extend the season for my Panthers. However, I have come to question the legitimacy of a playoff that has so many also-ran teams. And I wonder if those last at-large teams really want to play these games, particularly as it involves travel to places their schools and fans don't want to go for many reasons in addition to getting pummeled on the field.

It's not that you can avoid lopsided games (e.g. Georgia/TCU). But even the most lopsided national championship was preceded by the best semifinals ever. Unless there is more competitiveness in the round of 16, it seems that it might be better to reduce the number of teams.

The more playoff games there are the more competitive playoff games there will be (along with more non-competitive games). There is no magic number for max competitiveness - it all evens out over time. Besides, if the bottom 16 of the 24 are so unworthy let them duke it out on the Thanksgiving weekend wasteland where it's impossible to sell many tickets in a week while the contenders take a very welcome bye.

I'd guarantee every team that made the playoffs wanted to be there. I'd wager that YSU, UC Davis, Mercer, Chattanooga, or your Panthers all would've rather played NDSU in Hoople on a 0 degree Tuesday night vs sitting at home for the playoffs.

[Mr Pep Band]

24 Teams in the playoffs is good. Top 8 seeds get byes as they well-earned them. I would prefer to seed 1-16 and remove regionalization, but since the NCAA doesn't make a great deal of money on this championship, heck they might lose some, I don't know the details; I understand the cost saving measure. I don't like it, but I accept it.

At least the teams have a chance, and sometimes that's all it takes.

[CyPanth]

The more playoff games there are the more competitive playoff games there will be (along with more non-competitive games). There is no magic number for max competitiveness - it all evens out over time. Besides, if the bottom 16 of the 24 are so unworthy let them duke it out on the Thanksgiving weekend wasteland where it's impossible to sell many tickets in a week while the contenders take a very welcome bye.

I'd guarantee every team that made the playoffs wanted to be there. I'd wager that YSU, UC Davis, Mercer, Chattanooga, or your Panthers all would've rather played NDSU in Hoople on a 0 degree Tuesday night vs sitting at home for the playoffs.

I would like to think that the teams would like to keep playing. However, there is lots of evidence to consider about whether the administration and fans of these teams want to be there. You guys are having conversations about declining attendance at home for these beatdowns. It isn't better for the also-ran teams that squeak into the FCS playoffs. For many reasons, most fans don't want to come to the Dakota's during December. And administrators are having to consider the cost/benefits of these trips for their teams.

[Professor Chaos]

24 Teams in the playoffs is good. Top 8 seeds get byes as they well-earned them. I would prefer to seed 1-16 and remove regionalization, but since the NCAA doesn't make a great deal of money on this championship, heck they might lose some, I don't know the details; I understand the cost saving measure. I don't like it, but I accept it.

At least the teams have a chance, and sometimes that's all it takes.

I'll be interested to see how the money balances out if the NCAA bids out their championships TV contracts a la carte like I've heard they may do after their deal with ESPN runs out next year. 75-80% of bowl games would be money losers (some of them tremendous money losers) if you didn't include the media contract. I think it's pretty clear ESPN values the FCS playoffs with 6 national TV slots in this year's playoff. I'd bet if the schools/conferences competing in the FCS playoffs can show the value of the media deal the FCS playoffs would generate they'd be able to get rid of some of the regionalization requirements.

[taper]

A bigger problem in IMO is letting the Pioneer, NEC, and Patriot have an auto-bid. If you don't fully fund your program you shouldn't be guaranteed a spot. Holy Cross definitely would have gotten an at large this year so nobody worthy is being left out.
The FCS playoffs lose money overall and that hurts things, but I wonder what it would look like if we went to 16 and skipped Thanksgiving games that nobody goes to. I think we'd be close to break even. The NCAA makes a lot of noise about student-athlete well-being, but ignore that for a lot of FB players Thanksgiving weekend is the only time the entire semester they can travel home to be with their family.

[ndsubison1]

Dont see the big deal with 24 teams.